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The talk is about USC heading into Pac-12 Media Day, but Oregon has a roster that’s ready to peak.
It’s going to be a bit awkward, isn’t it?
The Pac-12 media day, hosted in the city soon to be lost from the conference’s footprint. UCLA and USC? The Bruins and Trojans have to just sweat out two more of these things before they can take their athletic programs, facilities and this location and ship it across the country to the Big Ten.
And try to deny as the rest of the conference might, the Pac-12 has been attempting to sell a star-studded vibe for a decade, moving media days around from various movie studios, hotels and now to this year’s location at L.A. Live., just miles from the campus of USC, whose new coach, Lincoln Riley, is sure to be the star.
The 38-year-old coach with the $110 million contract, $17 million house, star transfer quarterback and star transfer receiver was, for a moment, believed to be a potential savior for this conference. Instead this week’s media day feels more like the “Tell All” reality show finale where all the contestants who didn’t win return to vent before the Big Ten takes USC and UCLA to the honeymoon suites.
“While you weren’t looking, USC became a power again,” headlines Saturdays Down South this week.
“New-look USC Trojans emerge as most popular bet to win College Football Playoff,” reads ESPN.
The hype is understandable, to an extent. Riley had incredible success during his five years at Oklahoma, Caleb Williams is a potential Heisman candidate and so too, apparently, is Travis Dye. That’s not to take a swipe at Dye, the former Oregon running back, but I was listening to a college football podcast this morning where all of a sudden Dye was being referred to as a top every-down running back in college football.
He wasn’t talked about that way at Oregon. Why?
Well, because he’s at USC now. And for more than the last decade, USC’s reputation hasn’t actually been backed up by the results. Keep in mind, while the Trojans’ offense will no doubt rip, this is also a team that allowed Stanford (42), Oregon State (45), Utah (42) and UCLA (62) to put up more than 40 points in wins against the Trojans at the Coliseum. USC could be really good. But with 40 players gone from last year’s roster and 16 new players coming in via transfer, there’s a lot of volatility here. Utah could be better. Washington State could be better. UCLA could be better.
Oregon should be better.
I struggle with gauging expectations for the Ducks this season. Dan Lanning is a first-year head coach, he doesn’t have a Heisman candidate at quarterback and he’s taking over an Oregon program that lost three of its last four games a season ago. But he’s also the former defensive coordinator of the most recent national championship winner, and he’s taking over a roster loaded to the brim with four years of Mario Cristobal’s recruiting classes. It’s mostly the same roster that beat Ohio State in Week 2 of last season and reached No. 3 in the AP Poll for the first time since 2014.
And yes, the Ducks did lose three of four to end the year. The Trojans lost six of seven.
So what do we expect? Nine wins? 10? A conference title? Do you allow Lanning time to get his feet wet at a time when Oregon’s future hangs in the balance?
Here’s a suggestion to Lanning in lieu of an expectation: Go beat Georgia in Atlanta. Beat BYU like a real Power 5 team should. Beat Stanford and UCLA at Autzen. Blowout Colorado in Boulder, the Cougars in Pullman and the Wildcats in Tucson. Prove you were the right hire by beating Cal in Berkeley and save your best for a final stretch of Washington, Utah and Oregon State.
Win the Pac-12 Championship game. Make the playoff. Force college football to align to Oregon.
Outlandish, right? Probably, but it’s been done here before. Kelly reached the Rose Bowl in his first season with the Ducks, ushering in a unique era of national relevance directly correlated to success on the field. Throw in the uniforms and style of play and, a decade later, Oregon has players on its roster who came to Eugene because they grew up hooked on those teams.
“Watching the Ducks in the Rose Bowl, watching the Ducks who went to the national championship, watching De’Anthony Thomas when he was here. He’s a great player,” said Oregon WR/RB Seven McGee.
McGee, who came across the country from New York to play for Oregon, is part of a roster Lanning is building that should keep a contention window open for the foreseeable future — especially with five-star quarterback Dante Moore coming into the fold next season. Nothing is guaranteed, there’s a lot to prove, however, if these Ducks can start winning now, this thing really has the chance of popping off.
Maybe that helps the Pac-12. It certainly helps Oregon’s future.
And it certainly will make things even more awkward at next year’s media day.
— Tyson Alger
@tysonalger
